1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of driving and controlling a solenoid-operated valve. The solenoid-operated valve opens/closes by receiving a serial driving signal outputted from a superordinate control apparatus and sends an operation state signal to the superordinate control apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic assembling systems are adopted for the process of assembling machines and tools, etc. by operating a plurality of solenoid-operated valves. The automatic assembling systems perform the automatic assembling such that the supply and the cutoff of compressed air to a cylinder or the like are controlled by using the solenoid-operated valve, and the position of an object is controlled by the cylinder or the like.
The automatic assembling system as described above is large-scaled, and a large number of solenoid-operated valves are used therein. It is preferable that the solenoid-operated valves are controlled centrally, and that the management is made centrally, to know whether or not the solenoid-operated valves are correctly operated based on a control signals for the solenoid-operated valves. Further, it is also preferable to realize the adaptability to easily change the control pattern for the respective solenoid-operated valves and easily add or eliminate the solenoid-operated valve in response to any changes of the automatic assembling system.
However, there has been no method of driving and controlling solenoid-operated valves in which the driving control and the management of the solenoid-operated valve as described above can be centrally performed and it is possible to easily respond to changes of the system.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of driving and controlling a solenoid-operated valve in which the solenoid-operated valve can be centrally controlled and managed and it is possible to easily respond to changes of the system.
In a method of driving and controlling a solenoid-operated valve according to a first aspect of the present invention, solenoid-operated valve opening/closing control data is inputted from a serial bus as serial data including two bits for each solenoid-operated valve coil of the solenoid-operated valve; converting the solenoid-operated valve opening/closing control data into parallel data; driving the corresponding solenoid-operated valve coil based on one bit of the two bits for each solenoid-operated valve coil in the parallel data; driving a first light emitting diode based on another bit; inputting an output from a sensor for detecting at least one of open and closed states of the solenoid-operated valve and a signal indicating whether the solenoid-operated valve coil has a single-coil structure or a double-coil structure as input data; and converting the input data into serial data for sending to the serial bus.
Therefore, according to the method of driving and controlling the solenoid-operated valve of the first aspect of the present invention, the solenoid-operated valve opening/closing control data supplied to the solenoid-operated valve, the detected signal of at least one of the open and closed states of the solenoid-operated valve outputted from the solenoid-operated valve, and the signal indicating whether the solenoid-operated valve coil has the single-coil structure or the double-coil structure are sent in the serial data structure. It is possible to centrally perform the management, for example, for driving the solenoid-operated valve and opening/closing the solenoid-operated valve by driving.
In a method of driving and controlling a solenoid-operated valve according to a second aspect of the present invention, solenoid-operated valve opening/closing control data is inputted from a serial bus as serial data including two bits for each solenoid-operated valve coil of the solenoid-operated valve; converting the solenoid-operated valve opening/closing control data into parallel data; driving the corresponding solenoid-operated valve coil based on one bit of the two bits for each solenoid-operated valve coil in the parallel data; driving a first light emitting diode based on another bit; inputting an output from a plurality of sensors for detecting open, closed, and intermediate positions of the solenoid-operated valve and a signal indicating whether the solenoid-operated valve coil has a single-coil structure or a double-coil structure as input data; and converting the input data into serial data for sending to the serial bus.
Therefore, according to the method of driving and controlling the solenoid-operated valve of the second aspect of the present invention, the solenoid-operated valve opening/closing control data supplied to the solenoid-operated valve, the detected signals of the open, closed, and intermediate positions of the solenoid-operated valve outputted from the solenoid-operated valve, and the signal indicating whether the solenoid-operated valve coil has the single-coil structure or the double-coil structure are sent in the serial data structure. It is possible to centrally perform the management, for example, for driving the solenoid-operated valve and opening, positioning intermediately, or closing the solenoid-operated valve by driving.
In the method of driving and controlling the solenoid-operated valve according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, when the solenoid-operated valve has the single-coil structure, it is enough that the solenoid-operated valve having the single-coil structure is connected and that the signal indicating the single-coil structure is inputted. It is possible to respond to both of the solenoid-operated valve of the double-coil structure and the solenoid-operated valve of the single-coil structure. It is also easy to respond to any changes of the system, so that the entire system will have large adaptability.
In the method of driving and controlling the solenoid-operated valve according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, when the two bits for each of the two solenoid-operated valve coils of the solenoid-operated valve have the same data, the driving of the solenoid-operated valve can be simulated in accordance with the light emission of the first light emitting diode, and it is easy to perform maintenance and check, even when the solenoid-operated valve coil is not connected. That is, when the two bits for each of the two solenoid-operated valve coils of the solenoid-operated valve are the same data, it is possible to judge the breaking of wire of the solenoid-operated valve coil if the solenoid-operated valve is not driven although the solenoid-operated valve coil is supposed to be connected and the first light emitting diode emits light. Thus, it is easy to perform maintenance.